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Buick Regal

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I've only had two experiences where the Service Engine Soon light came on. The first was when I didn't tighten down on the gas cap (discovered that by checking the owner's manual), and the second was in conjunction with a rough running engine which turned out to be dirty fuel injectors. Since then I've been adding a bottle of Chevron's Techron fuel injector cleaner at every oil change and haven't had the problem since. Please let us know how things turn out.

hi...i am new to new forum. i have been driving a buiclk regal ls 2000 for close to 2 years. i have some questions here.1. the ext temp sensor doesn't seem to work. for example, the temperature this morning was in the 40s, but the indicator panel showed 105 F at the start and reached 120 F within 15 minutes of driving on the highway. i have read that this could be due to a faulty sensor, and the best way would be to replace with a new one. Is it expensive to get a new one, or can i drive my car and ignore the temperature indication? there was once the ext temp sensor indicated a very high temperature, and the engine would not restart. i had to wait for a while before the engine could be started. i don't know if engine problem is related to the temp sensor.

2. the Service Engine Soon light came off recently and lasted for a couple of weeks. A few days ago, for some unknown reasons, the light went off. is this a common issue in buick regals? should i ignore it since the warning light has gone off?

The external temperature sensor only controls the climate control with its input; it doesn't affect the motor's sensors and inputs.

The external sensor is in front of the radiator probably on a center vertical support. It's about the size of your thumb. I would try disconnecting it and reconnecting it since there will be a connector somewhere close to it. If the digital control for the HVAC is not flashing when you start up, it's probably just a bad connection or bad sensor. Try GMpartsdirect.com and rockauto.com for the part (I can't find it on rockauto). Also check with Advance Auto and NAPA. I would expect it to be under $40 for a replacement.

The service engine soon light can be gas cap seal. Try a little vaseline on the rubber seal on the cap. Use an oiled cloth to rub the inside of the metal filler tube to remove any buildup. I've seen brown crud from gas or something building up where the contact with the cap is made. If it's not a flashing yellow light, then it's a low level pollution control problem.

If that is what's causing the light, the system retests the seal of the tank and other tubes to the charcoal canister only when started lukewarm. I would drive until the temp gauge just starts up to like 100. Stop car for a while (I got coffee) and then when you restart the car just sit at idle for a minute or two and the light may go off if the pressure test is passed. If the car is warmed above 170 it does not do the pressure test. These were the parameters used for my 98 LeSabre's system when I read the factory manual to learn how its yellow light worked!!!

I found a temperature sensor on gmpartsdirect at $4.40 or so with $9 shipping. You might check locally. There were two different part numbers listed. Check the number for the one you have when you check the connection. But it's possible there's an updated part...

>Fog lamps are not "just decoration", but their effect is >rather limited. I would say they are something like 75% >decoration, and 25% substance. Or even 90% decoration, >10% substance in case of Regal.

Well, I was being about 75% sarcastic, 25% serious, but I understand what you're saying. They do serve a purpose, but it seems extremely limited. The only time when my normal headlights aren't on - thanks to the car's sensor - is in daylight. So whenever I might want to use the fog lights, my headlights are on anyway.

I have always been under the impression that the better lights for fog, etc. are the orange/amber lights because it is better able to penetrate fog, snow, sleet, etc. compared to white lights which as you say is reflected back to the driver, not to mention oncoming traffic. And of course rule #1 for bad weather is to never use high beams.

I can't recall off the top of my head what lights the Regal has for "parking" I know the parking lights on the Regal are amber, but I'm not sure if a dim white light also appears. But it's a moot point because one can't drive (at least not with the Canadian model) with the lights in parking mode if it's at all dim outside.

So I guess I'll just let the Regal decide what lights it wants to use and try to remember to dust off the fog light button every so often!

I would buy my own antifreeze. Even more, that Regal, as well as most of other modern GM cars, uses orange DEX-COOL antifreeze instead of the usual green one. Allegedly it is good for 5 years or 150k miles, but I prefer to change it after 3 years.

The last time when I checked, the orange antifreeze cost about $10 in Wal-Mart. Regal requires two gallons, i.e. $20. Distilled water is available at drugstores, but the water is very soft in CT where I live, so I skip the distilled water.

A procedure for getting maximum cleaning out of it is to put it in only with a very low tank and put in only the number of gallons of quality premium fuel that the bottle size is for, 12 or 20 gallons. Drive that down low again. Then put in a second bottle and drive that out. Don't add gasoline until 2nd tank is mostly used up. Do not repeat a third time. Use premium fuel for the additional cleaners in them.

I did that double treatment once and didn't really notice any change with the second tank. The professional mechanic who recommends this knows his stuff. This is what he recommends for the really problematic symptom cars. I would skip the repeat treatments later until you sense symptoms. I put it through maybe every 9 months just for good luck.

Like others, I doubt if I would feel real secure driving away with "recycled" antifreeze. Not sure what price they quoted you, but at the local Rapid Oil Change in our neighborhood the price was $69.99 before AAA discount. I think, however, that was for the green stuff (I switched our '99 Regal over to green just after the warranty expired).

I have a 98 Regal GS that i got a few months ago. I wanna try to get some info from some people that know a lot about Regals, this is probably the best place. First of all what are those 2 small container looking things that are on the air intake between the airfilter and engine. I ask because the one on the bottom fell off and it felt like the engine was sucking in air without being filtered. There was nothing in the container so i cleaned it out and stuck it back where it came from, seemed to fit nicely. I just was wondering what their purpose was? and has anyone figured out how to stop the dash rattiling. seems to be coming from where the windshield and dash meet. thanks for any help.

No, not all cooling system flushes are of the recycle method. I always watch when they flush the system in my '99 Regal, and they always use new coolant.

Regarding switching to green from orange, it is true you do not want to mix the two. When I switched to green 3 years ago it was when there were all those horror stories about how Dex-Cool would eat intake head gaskets. Now I've come to the belief that the problem was basically a "training issue" where owners were told Dex-Cool was good for 5 years/150,000, so they basically put it out of their minds and never even bothered to check it.

And therein lies the problem. No matter what flavor coolant we use, we still need to check it on a scheduled basis. I believe the killer for Dex-Cool users is when air gets into the system after the overflow tank runs dry (due to owner neglect). Likewise, owners shouldn't depend on GM's claim of 5 years/150,000 miles usage. The liquid turns into a redish/brownish sludge as I saw in a friend's Le Sabre.

I have the green stuff, and the rules for that flavor haven't changed. It should be changed out about every 2 years/24,000 miles. My twin sons each bought used low-mileage Buick Century's this year. The first thing they did was change out all the fluids, and they asked me if they should also change the coolant to green stuff. My advice to them was to keep the Dex-Cool, but get it flushed out with new Dex-Cool every 3 years or 50,000 miles. So far, so good.

Can someone tell me where these are located. The fan does not work in the low position but ok in at the other speeds. I have the chiltons book, but they tried to cover too many models (chevy pontiac buick) and they skip a lot of details. Its a 98 regal.

I have a Haynes manual for Buick Century/Regal, and it has a section on the heater blower. You first need to remove the lower right dash insulator panel below the glove box to get access to the blower motor (but you probably already knew that!). I think the resistor is located somewhere in that housing fastened by some mounting screws. You might need to use a small screwdriver to release the blower motor relay from the harness connector for better access.

If the coils on the backside of the resistor look okay, it might be a fault in the blower speed switch.

I have a 03 buick regal v-6 K, it will start but will not idle. After starting it revs up kinda high then dies, I can keep it running if I keep my foot on the gas pedal. When I do that it backfires when it dies. I just replaced the fuel filter but no luck. For about 2 weeks previous to this I had some problems with it not starting on the first try,I thought it was because of the cold, then all of the sudden, this. When it first happened it would idle but it was really rough. Now that it has sat or whatever it does the other. It was suggested that I check that the coils are good and I bought a spark plug line tester thing but I can't keep it running long enough to use it. I'm sorry if I'm rambling but I figure the more info I can give you the better.The car only has 20K on it. any suggestions?

These ideas taken from troubleshooting section of Haynes manual. There are other causes listed, such as leaking head gasket and worn camshaft lobes, but they probably aren't worth considering because your car has so low mileage.

Does your "Service Engine Soon" light come on?

Other ideas:1. Check if gas cap tightly secured.2. Pour in a can of Techron fuel injector cleaner.

I have a 94 Regal and I was trying to change out the tape deck and put in a new kenwood CD head unit. Ok here comes the big Q....Does anyone know how I can do this. Here is why I ask, I have done many radio change outs but this one is a little different. The radio is in one place and the tape deck is in another. I got a wiring harness but its not the right one. Dont know if this is the case because this car is a Regal Custom are what. Also all the wiring is a little different... ie like everything else I have worked on. I could get the new deck to come on and light up and even got the power ant. to come up and down when switching from tuner to cd to standby...but no sound are mem. If anyone can help please do...thanks

Any thoughts on which tire would be a better choice for my 99' Buick LS? Looking at Yokohama Avid touring($348 out the door) and the Yokohama Avid T4($305 out the door which includes $60 off)I drive about 6k a year. Most likely will be last tire purchase for this vehicle before selling. I like a quiet comfortable tire...but also some performance.

It is time to replace the front rotors of my 2000 Regal GS. I would like to upgrade them to 11.8" (30 cm.) rotors, as on 2000-2005 Impala LS and many other cars. GM sells kits with these rotors, pads, brackets, and pins. The kits are advertised for Pontiac Gran Prix, but not for Regal.

Many people reported at RegalGS.com that the kits can be installed on GS as well. However, I am not sure that it true with all kind of wheels. I have "silver" 16" wheels, not the more usual chrome.

I believe the lug nut pattern between the standard alloy wheel and the optional chrome wheel are the same on Regals, whether they be LS or GS flavors. I suppose to be sure you could always remove one of the rotors from your GS and take it into a Chevy or Pontiac dealer and compare it to the larger rotor, assuming you have access to another vehicle.

I purchased a set of Goodyear assurance comfortread tires. If you want quiet comfortable riding tires, these are it. The set I replaced were Response rst(or something like that) which were a very noisy tire. The Goodyears are almost like riding on pillows. I did notice a 3 to 5 % decrease in gas mileage, I'm guessing due to the softer sidewall. I believe they were ~380.$$ at Discount Tire

Regal GS and LS with the touring suspension have 16" wheels as well. However, some 16" wheels are incompatible with the bigger brakes. The gap between the brackets and 16" rims is very tight. Depending on the rim geometry, it may rib the brackets.

The stock brakes of my 2000 Regal GS always were somewhat weak. From the very beginning. Probably a bad copy: my 2004 GS with the same brakes stops noticeable faster.

Recently I serviced the car at my dealer, and mechanic told that it is time to replace rotors. The wear is too deep. I see it myself too.

Given that I had to replace rotors and pads anyway, I want to use the occasion for upgrading to 12" rotors. Even more than my son turns 16 the next fall: the safer, the better.

I want to go to the larger size, because the bigger brakes resist fade better. They do not overheat easy. This is very important if you need to stop (or almost stop) several times in row from higher speed, as it happens in the stop and go traffic on highways.

I am not sure if the braking distance is shorter with bigger rotors. For shorter braking distance, I am going to buy sporty aftermarket pads and rotors. The rotors are more efficient in rain as well.

I wandered, though, if my 6-spoke 2000-2004 Regal rims will clear the brackets. I asked on the RegalGS.org forum, and received a positive answer from a nice gentlemen who already upgraded his Regal, with the same wheels, to the 12" rotors.

Bushwack, how many miles you have on your Avid Tourings? Any noticeable change in performance with increased mileage?

I called a tire dealership this morning and got a price on the Yokohama Touring ($365 on the rim and out the door).I asked about performance tires. The manager said a touring tire is better. I asked about the Avid T4, he said that WAS a touring as it is T rated. I said I thought the T4 was more of a performance tire. He said it came up as a touring...and it is stated as a touring tire in the dealerships ad in the paper this morning. But, tireracks information calls it a performance tire. I guess its a low performance touring tire :confuse:

Got the coolant flush & fill and transmission flush the other day at the Buick Dealership. $109 coolant and $119 transmission. I guess I could have saved $50 by taking it to a quickie lube place or some other discount place, butfeel it was done properly at dealership.